Description
War of Independence affected couriered JERUSALEM mail + special postage rate: 20 Jan 1948 dated stenciled message in English and Hebrew on Teva Pharmaceuticals imprinted postal stationary postal card, written in & return-addressed to JERUSALEM and addressed to HAIFA - but posted in HAIFA on 3 Feb 1948, stampless & tied by 3 mils POSTAGE PAID red postmark.
Significant postal history on two counts: 1) in the months leading to the termination of the Mandate in May, access to post offices in Jerusalem was difficult and dangerous for security reasons and postal service there in general was unreliable - as such this postcard was couriered out of the city and posted already at the city of destination, a rare example of HAIFA couriered mail as most similar examples are posted in Tel Aviv. 2) Of special note is the postage rate charged: 3 mils as "printed matter" (though not so endorsed on the postcard) rather than 7 mils as an inland postcard - but as the postal card contains a long message this is an intriguing rate. As per post office regulations (published on 15 Dec. 1937) the printed matter rate could be used on bulk mail (quantities of at least 20 copies) if the text was "in imitation of typewriting [or] stencilled copies of typewritten matter" - as in the case of this postcard, whose address appears to be teleprinted. A rare example of this postage rate used on this type of postcard.
